Bournemouth Borough council will present a strategy at Cabinet on 19 February to house the homeless in Bournemouth which will provide more affordable housing, reduce homelessness, and allocate housing to local people most in need.
Though it is a legal requirement for the Council to have an up-to-date housing strategy and homelessness strategy, there were concerns urging the council to take action,
“There has been a significant improvement in the number of homeless people and rough sleepers in Bournemouth over the last ten years, we have seen a slight increase in the last two years. It is likely this trend will continue due to the economic climate and welfare reform” said Hayley Paterson a PR officer of Bournemouth Borough council
The Bournemouth Housing Strategy 2013-2020 will address homelessness and rough sleeping and offers a wide range of different services such as a rough sleeper outreach team who encourage people to access services inside and provide an enhanced service for severe weather conditions. The document will include a strong investment in providing support services for other vulnerable people including young people, care leavers, and people with learning disabilities.
The document proposes that over the next few years a housing new-build programme of 105 homes will be introduced and work to regenerate old houses to help solve the housing related issues in Boscombe.
Councillor Robert Lawton, Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “I’m pleased to introduce the proposed new housing strategy for Bournemouth. It demonstrates our commitment to further improving housing within the Borough, which will help to shape our communities and meet future housing needs.
Though most of the plan will be funded majorly by government allocations Cllr Lawton said, Bournemouth’s Homeless: Image courtesy of Flickr
“We’re facing challenging times with significant reductions in central Government grant funding and policy changes that will impact on housing issues in the town but I’m confident we have a solid way forward, which we can deliver in partnership with other organisations.”
Main Image courtesy of AK Property Consultant
